


Lost and Found / Movie Night

by TimidMarshmallow



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Happy Birthday Prompto, October Special, Pre- Leaving Insomnia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 09:35:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16405895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimidMarshmallow/pseuds/TimidMarshmallow
Summary: *October 2018 Special*Prompto misplaces something. / Movie night was supposed to be fun, not spooky!





	1. Lost and Found

Prompto put his name on everything. 

It started because once his parents had given him a handkerchief with his name on it. This led to him getting a letter from the oracle (THE oracle, the same one from the radio and news and the princess oracle!!!), and it had made him the happiest he’d been in a long time. So logically, if he put his name on other things then somebody might read it and talk to him the same way. 

Right?

Right. 

So Prompto wrote his name in his I-got-an-A+-in-penmanship handwriting upon all of his belongings. Tags of jackets, notebooks, his lunchbox… everything was Prompto-ed. Most days it didn’t matter, because he kept his things where they were supposed to be. Nobody was nosy enough to read his shirt tag when it stuck out, so nobody ever asked why he was labeling things. 

-o-

“Hello!” 

“Hey! Keep up the good work!” 

The older jogger kept running past the younger one. Prompto smiled to himself. That guy was so nice. Well, from his daily sentence he seemed nice. Surely mean people don’t encourage strangers? 

Continuing along the path, Prompto unzipped his hooded sweatshirt and took it off. The sun was beaming brightly today and it was too hot for extra layers. There was a squirrel on a tree that he was approaching, so the little runner stopped to photograph it. “Hi, cute- oh! Come back, I won’t hurt you! Oh.” 

His woodland discovery climbed higher and disappeared into the leaves. 

Before he could be disappointed a ‘meow’ caught his attention. Locating the source, Prompto put down his sweatshirt and knelt to pet his new friend. “May I take your picture instead?” 

“Mrrow!” 

“Haha, thank you!” ‘Click.’ Prompto stood up and looked around. “Do you live around here?” 

An elderly couple walking past scurried faster, trying to put some distance between them and the boy talking to a cat. Prompto blushed when he noticed. “Thanks a lot, kitty, now people think I’m crazy. That’s okay. You’re cute enough that I forgive you. I have to go now though. Goodbye!” Examining his picture of the feline, he walked off. 

The cat just lay down on the forgotten sweatshirt and watched the human walk away. 

-o-

“Noct! Wait up!” 

“Get your nose out of the book and you won’t be so far behind.” The crown prince slowed down anyway so his advisor could catch up. “The pond in this park is supposed to have huge fish. Do you think they allow people to catch them?” 

Ignis closed the homework he was supposed to be studying. There was no way he could babysit his royal friend and read at the same time. He had to do a good job or else he wouldn’t have the prestigious position anymore. “Probably not. The fish are part of the park.” 

“Oh.” Noctis stopped, suddenly less excited. It didn’t make sense to stare at fish he couldn’t have. For that, he’d just go to the aquarium. “Let’s go back. I want to play video games instead.”

“Highness, we came to the park so you could get some fresh air.” Ignis had requested to bring him to this specific one because the Crownsguard monitoring them could easily blend in unnoticed. Noctis hated when everyone was doting on him, so Ignis hoped that if the guards were hidden then he could experience some semblance of freedom. 

“Fine. I’ll walk the path a little bit but then we should go home.” 

“Your leg will probably hurt after a walk.” Ignis glanced at the steps to get to the jogging path. The prince’s old injury always flared up when there were a lot of steps or a steep incline. “I didn’t realize it was so late.” 

Noctis, however, wasn’t looking to go on the path that Ignis was eyeing. He was busy walking towards a cat he noticed. “Look, Specs!” 

“A cat?” 

The feline stood up and stretched before walking over to greet the new humans. 

“Hey, it was laying on a sweater.” Noctis picked up the cloth. The cat no longer seemed to care about the makeshift bedding, instead concerned with rubbing itself all over the males. 

“Check the tag, maybe someone lost it?” Ignis gently pet the cat as it exposed its belly. “Maybe someone lost you. You don’t look like a stray… you’re too clean for that.” 

Noctis looked inside the sweatshirt. Prompto? “There’s a name. How do we find a ‘Prompto’?”

“It looks like a young child’s sweatshirt.” There was no way it was an adult’s clothing article. The sleeves were too short. “Let’s take it back to the citadel. I can ask to check the database of the school. The name you said doesn’t sound like a common one.” 

“Are we taking this little guy too?” 

“Actually, Noct, it’s a girl. And yes, I think we should. I can search for the owner.” Ignis took the sweatshirt and carefully wrapped the cat in it. He didn’t want the animal to panic and scratch him as he tried to help it. Of course, the cat immediately started meowing. She was not happy with the way she was being transported. 

Noctis pet her exposed head. “How’re you going to find the owner?” 

“I am the royal advisor to the crown prince. I have resources.” Ignis actually wasn’t sure yet, but he was at that age where admitting defeat was embarrassing. Noctis rolled his eyes. “You’re so… weird.” 

-o-

They had gone right back to the citadel, their driver unhappy about the extra passenger. 

Noctis was swept away by one of his nannies so he could get ready for dinner with his father. That left Ignis with a cat and a sweatshirt, so he went to find a responsible adult to help him return both. 

Cor was the poor soul he ran into first, and so Cor hit the computers to assist the young advisor. It was easy to find the name on the tag, there was only one school near that park - the one Noctis attended. “Prompto… Argentum. He’s in the same grade.” 

“I can take it into the main office and ask the secretary to return it to him.” Ignis was sitting in a chair by the desk with the cat and sweater in his lap. “How are we going to find her owner, Marshal?” 

“I don’t see a collar, but I can call the local shelters to see if anyone’s reported a missing cat.” Cor picked up the phone, and by a stroke of luck he called the right shelter first. Somebody had reported a missing female cat and the description matched their furry friend. “I’ll take her there. Ignis, please have that sweatshirt washed before returning it.”

“Yes, sir, thank you!” Ignis was glad that Cor had taken care of things so neatly. Maybe his nickname should have been Cor the Efficient. Leaving the cat with the older man, Ignis took the fur-covered sweatshirt back to his room. His quarters were close to Noctis’ room (in case the young prince needed assistance). 

Noctis himself appeared just as Ignis was putting their discovery into the washing machine. “Did you find out who Prompto is?”

“Yes. I can drop it off at your school when I take you in.”

“I can give it in.” Noctis wanted to make sure the owner actually got it back. The lost and found section by the entrance was full of unclaimed, unmarked items. It would be a shame for this sweatshirt to join the pile, this Prompto kid had obviously taken a lot of care to write his name on the tag. 

“We can both go.” Ignis searched for his sewing kit as the laundry spun in the machine. There weren’t any large holes, but some of the seams needed attending to. 

-o-

“Prompto Argentum, to the main office; Prompto Argentum, to the main office.” 

Prompto shrank before getting out of his seat. Was he in trouble? What did he even do!? He’d never been called to the office before!

A knot of anxiety steadily grew in his stomach as he trudged to the front of the school. Opening the door, he hesitantly entered. The principal was standing by the secretary’s desk. Oh man, Prompto’s heart started racing faster than he could ever hope to run. 

“Hello, dear. You’re Mr. Argentum, right?” The secretary wasn’t yelling, and the principal didn’t seem angry either. 

“Y-yes?” 

“Your older brothers dropped off your sweatshirt. It looked like one of them was sick, so please let him know I said ‘feel better’!” The secretary pointed to a counter next to the doorway, and sure enough there sat Prompto’s clothing. 

“Oh! Th-thank you. Uh, have a good day bye!” Prompto grabbed the sweatshirt and retreated, smiling nervously to convey his gratitude. When he was a safe distance away he stopped in the hall to hold up his sweatshirt . “When did I even lose you…?” And what had the secretary meant, his older brothers dropped it off?? He didn’t have any siblings, certainly not any sick ones. Hopefully whoever she had meant felt better. 

Putting the returned sweatshirt back on, he reflexively stuck his hand in the pockets. His fingers bumped into what felt like an envelope. “Huh?” 

Prompto pulled it out. Opening it, he carefully removed a small paper and fifty gil. Neat writing, neater than his, gently reminded him to ‘please take good care of this’. A sloppy doodle of Carbuncle sat next to the reminder with a speech bubble. “‘Keep the gil, Prompto’ …Wow! Whoever gave this back is super nice!” 

Snuggling into the sweatshirt as he pocketed the gift, he noticed that there was a really good smell. Had they washed it for him too!? 

“Thank you… Hope I get to meet who gave this back.” Prompto happily returned to class.


	2. Movie Night

Noctis dropped the blanket onto Prompto’s head, turning to go get another one out of his room. “Dude, you’re messing up my hair!” 

Despite the whine, Prompto smiled and fixed the blanket. Movie nights with his best friend were the greatest, and this time Ignis was joining them. The older teen was already leaving the kitchen, tray of movie snacks balanced carefully. “Why are you sitting on the floor? There’s a perfectly good sofa right behind you.” 

“If I sit there then where are you going to put the food? Oh, man! You made that chocolate thing~ Thanks, Iggy!” Prompto removed an arm from his blanket cape to snag one of the treats. As he pilfered, Ignis sat down and picked up the remote. Noctis returned with two more blankets and sat on the other side of his favorite chef. “You want one, Specs?” 

“Ah, thank you.” It was cold already, even for October. Prompto swore they would probably get snow before his birthday, that’s how cold it was outside. Thankfully all three were inside, where the heat was set at a more reasonable temperature. 

“Gladio’s missing out.” Noctis reached over Ignis, who was pressing play, and snatched the bowl of popcorn. “He’s spending time with his sister. I’m sure he doesn’t feel that he is missing out.” 

“Yeah, it’s okay! Hanging out with you guys is just as fun!” Prompto curled his knees up as the trailers started playing. The first one was advertising a scary movie about ronin daemons. The screen shrieked as the sword sound effects were overused. 

“Dude, are you scared? That looks so fake!” Noctis reached over to tug on Prompto’s blanket. “No! It was just louder than I expected!” 

Ignis lowered the volume and gently shoved Noctis back over. Moving the snacks to his lap, he patted the now clear seat. “Prompto, please come off the floor.”

The blond scooted up onto the sofa. The movie finally started after a trailer about a new kid’s movie starring Lil’ Malbuddy. Their chosen film was a comedy. The wacky young couple on the television had to deal with eccentric new neighbors, and there were a lot of misunderstandings. It was decent. 

Halfway through the movie they heard a loud thump. Ignoring it, they continued watching the program. 

As the credits rolled Prompto helped Ignis clean up the snack mess. Noctis turned off the television and grabbed all the blankets. The living room looked passable again (enough that Ignis wouldn’t get on his case), so he went to take the bathroom first while the other two were occupied. 

Prompto showered next, and he was just plugging in the hair dryer when they heard another thump. “What is that?” 

Ignis stopped to listen before determining it was nothing. He closed the bathroom door. Noctis took this opportunity to tease his younger friend. “Did that trailer make you worried?” Sneaking up with a pillow, he attacked. 

Prompto turned off the hair dryer. “It did not! Cheater, hitting me while I have no weapon!”

Tossing him a pillow from the sofa, he posed in a swordsman’s stance. “I challenge you to a sleep-off. Goodnight.” 

Prompto chased him as he retreated to the bed. “Get back here and fight with honor!” 

“You asked for it!” The two went back and forth, smacking each other with the pillows. Ignis eventually walked in to Prompto pinned on the bed, Noctis just sitting on his back and repeatedly smacking his head with the fluffbag. Prompto was feebly shielding himself with his hands. “I yield!” 

“Nope.” Another ‘pap!’ flopped against the blond prisoner. Ignis saved him by snatching the pillow. “Alright, playtime’s over.” 

Noctis rolled his eyes. “Yes, mum.” He wasn’t ready for the pillow-to-the-face, and Prompto cheered. “Woohoo, Ignis! He’s on my team!” 

“No teams. Go to bed, it’s late.” Ignis gave back the pillow and 

the lights flicked off. 

 

“Uh, guys?” Prompto tried to sit up but Noctis was still on his back. The prince reached over to grab his phone that was plugged at the nightstand, feeling blindly as he navigated the darkness. 

Ignis sighed. If the power was out then they couldn’t fill the inflatable mattress. It was going to be Noctis in his bed, Prompto on the sofa, and Ignis on the mattress. Not now, though. 

The phone light filled the room as Noctis finally found it. Prompto, now free, sat up. “Guess it’s a good thing we watched the movie earlier.” 

Noctis nodded. “Yeah. Specs?” 

“I’m not sure what’s going on. The building manager will be hearing from me tomorrow. Right now, let’s consider sleeping arrangements.” Ignis didn’t want to sleep on the floor. He had meetings to go to in the morning and having a sore back would make them more unpleasant. 

“Ignis, you can take the sofa. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.” Prompto figured that the other male probably didn’t want to be on the germ covered floor (he was partially right even though he didn’t consider the potential back problems). Noctis waved his hand dismissively. “What are you talking about? Ignis, just take the sofa and Prompto, sleep on that side of the bed. Goodnight, for real this time.” 

With that, he lay down. 

Hesitatingly, the other two moved to obey his plan. 

They all heard what sounded like someone talking… but none of them could make out the words. Prompto chuckled nervously. “Noct, now’s not the time for funny videos from your phone.”

Noctis held up the device, the lock screen feebly lighting up the room. “It’s not me.” 

Ignis tried to put a calming hand on Prompto’s shoulder, but he just ended up lightly smacking his arm. “It’s probably just the neighbor downstairs watching the television.” 

“Yeah. It’s the weekend, there’s no bedtime! Everyone is up, watching stuff.” Prompto rationalized before hurrying to the bed. He felt a twinge of guilt that Ignis would be sleeping alone in another room. Noctis was right here, so he at least had someone. 

What was he thinking!? There was nothing wrong! It just seemed scary because of the late hour and the power outage!! Really, he was such a kid when it came to these sorts of things. Laying down with the blanket pulled up to his chin (shoulder against what felt like Noct’s back), he closed his eyes. 

There was another thump, closer this time. 

“Ow! My apologies, that was just me…”

“Ignis, did you just walk into a wall?” Noctis sounded annoyed. Had the sound scared him the way it had Prompto?

“...Yes.” 

“Just lay down in here. Scoot over, Prompto, we can all fit.” Noctis shifted, holding up the phone once more as a beacon. The other two didn’t admit their relief. Ignis hadn’t wanted to be alone either, and Prompto was sure that three people could handle whatever was happening better than if it had been a duo or even… what if he had been by himself!? Aw man! It was too scary to think about!! 

“Guys. Why are we worried? It’s probably just Gladio pranking us. He said he wasn’t going to come but then maybe he did, and he’s just being a jerk!” Noctis, still holding the phone like it was a safety line, texted his bodyguard. 

Ignis shook his head. “There’s no way he would have had access to turn off the power.” He tried to turn and elbowed Prompto’s head. “Ow.” “Sorry.”

Another thump echoed through the too-quiet apartment. The text jingle that followed gave everyone a small panic attack. 

“Gladio sent a picture of him, his dad, and Iris on the couch at their house. Says ‘Family game night. Why would I prank you losers?’. So I guess we know it’s not him.” Noctis was not comforted by his theory being disproved. 

The three lay there. Sleep was almost impossible despite the nonexistent lighting. 

“It sounds like something’s scurrying in the walls.” Prompto tried to curl up, but he ended up kneeing Noctis and kicking Ignis. He was right, there was a steady scritching above them. 

“I’ve had enough of this.” Ignis put on as brave of a voice as he could. He was the eldest here, and he was going to solve this once and for all! He was advisor to the future king, no way was he going to sit here scared of a few bumps in the night. He stood back up and felt his way out of the room. 

Somebody who was definitely not Prompto, Noctis, or Ignis spoke. The attempted heroism was abandoned midstep. “Damn it, left it in the truck!” 

The scritching from earlier returned, louder and angrier this time. The walls grumbled as the unknown person complained unintelligibly. 

Prompto grabbed Noctis’ arm. “Is someone trying to break in?” 

“Whoever it is will be going to jail!” Noctis yelled, hoping to scare off the would-be intruder. Ignis felt his way back to the bed. “Give me the phone!” 

“What? Why?” Noctis was gripping it pretty tightly, he didn’t know if he could let go. Ignis was trying to snatch it anyway. “To call the Crownsguard, obviously!”

Prompto slammed his hands over his ears. This was going south, fast, and he wanted the lights back on. Noctis and Ignis were arguing over who to call first and the wall was still thumping and his stomach wanted to get rid of all that popcorn he had eaten and 

There was a knock at the front door. 

“Hello? Anybody home? I really need the bathroom! Promise, I just gotta take a leak before I get back to work!” It was the voice from the wall.

Noctis kept dialing Cor’s phone number anyway, Ignis had talked him into contacting him before the police. After all, the military man was closer than the precinct so he’d get here first. “Cor? Get over here now, there’s a weird guy banging around outside and the power is out- Okay, okay! We will. Yeah, Prompto and Ignis. Got it. Hurry up!” 

“What did he say?” Ignis hoped he had talked Noctis into the right decision. Cor would take care of this quickly and quietly. If the police had come then the press would’ve followed. Announcing to the city where the prince lived was an invitation for worse scenarios than this one. 

“Said he’s coming and we should block off the door of the room that we’re in.” Noctis stood, ready to pile everything he owned in the doorway. The banging had stopped, which was somehow more terrifying. 

“Noct, how are we gonna move the furniture in the dark!?” Prompto was knocked into as somebody tried to move on the bed. They couldn’t even see each other, how would they be able to move without hurting somebody with the heavy room fillings? 

Ignis spoke from somewhere near the door. “The desk is closest, we can just use that.” There was another thud, and another exclamation of pain. “Noct, shine the phone over this way!”

The scratching sound returned. There was a poor rendition of ‘Calling for Rain’ being whistled, and it echoed through the walls. 

“That person is back! We have to do something!” “I’m trying!” “Stop yelling, you’re broadcasting our location!” “They already know we’re in here!” “Guys, we should call the police too! Cor’s taking forever!”

The three panicking teenagers were further startled by a violent rapping on the door of the room they were in. 

“Highness? Open up, it’s me!” 

Cor! 

All three of them rushed through the dark towards the gruff, angelic, beautiful voice. All three of them collided. 

“Ow!” “Prompto, is this you?” “Who’s pinching me!?” “Noctis, I’m not pinching. Shine the phone light again.” “Gah, right in my eyes!” “Sorry, Prompto.” 

Eventually the door was opened. Cor stood there patiently, the round flashlight hooked on his jacket shining steadily. “Is anyone hurt?” 

Before they could answer the voice from the walls said something else. “Wheeeew, finally done!” There was more noise that followed, mimicking the earlier racket. 

“Cor, how are we going to stop the intruder?” Ignis re-assumed his confident tone despite the obvious panic in his eyes. There was an adult here, so things would be okay now. Hopefully. 

“Now that I know you’re all safe, I’ll go find who is making all the noise. Stay here.” Cor turned, taking the glorious flashlight with him. 

It didn’t matter, because the lights flicked back on. 

Cor still rushed out, and the three kids sat back down on the bed. Prompto dared to speak first with the tiniest voice he’d ever used. “Who do you think it is?” 

“I don’t know, but Cor will stop him.” Noctis tried for a bit of bravado, but everyone knew it was false. No one called him out on it though. Ignis nodded, confirming the sentiment. “Yes, the Marshal is very good at his job. He’ll get this sorted out.” 

After a few tense, tortuous minutes of waiting Cor returned. A man was right behind him, and he was obviously dressed for maintenance work. His boots clomped as he walked and the keys on his belt jingled. He couldn’t possibly be any older than twenty-six, and when he spoke the teenagers recognized his voice. “Sorry about the confusion, this here guy says I caused a ruckus?” 

“You were in the walls?” Noctis knew this man… sort off. He always passed him when the worker was mid fixing something in the apartment building, but he had never stopped to talk. Ignis felt foolish for being afraid of the building’s staff, but Prompto was simply relieved that the mystery wallman wasn’t a murderer. 

“Yeah, someone in the building was complaining about power surges. Had to turn off this floor’s electricity to fix it. Didn’t you get the message? This was a scheduled blackout.” The worker hoisted up his pants. “Hey, I knocked on this door to find a bathroom! Thought it was empty, so I went to the next apartment… Why didn’t you open up? Almost peed myself…” 

“To be fair, we didn’t know it was you.” Ignis was so embarrassed. This had been scheduled? Why had he not been informed? This whole mess could have been avoided! 

“Are you three sure you’re okay?” Cor was very tired, but glad that the alarm had been false. Noctis nodded. “Thanks for coming out.” 

The maintenance worker and the marshal left. Prompto went to lay back down in Noct’s bed. “I’m still freaked out, haha, is that normal?” 

“It’s alright, we thought the situation was worse than it was. You’re likely still full of adrenaline.” Ignis yawned. Noctis returned to his bed too. “If you guys still want to sleep in here, I don’t mind.”

They all chose to stay in the same room, just in case. Sure, it was a tight squeeze, but it felt safe. 

Thankfully nothing else disturbed the night.


End file.
